Boss Bailey Looking to Make Name in NFL

Published 7:00 pm, Friday, February 21, 2003

AP Sports Writer

In a family that's already produced one Top 10 NFL draft pick, Boss Bailey isn't worried about outdoing his older brother, Champ. He just wants to join him in the NFL.

"We've never really competed toward each other," Boss Bailey, a linebacker from Georgia, said Saturday at the NFL's annual scouting combine. "We always stuck together because there were other people we competed against."

Separating the Baileys isn't easy.

Both are tremendous athletes and big-time players. Both attended Georgia, and were ranked among the best players coming out of college.

What sets Bailey apart, however, are attributes rarely found in a linebacker.

He said he has run the 40-yard dash in the 4.2- to 4.3-second range, despite injuring the anterior cruciate ligament in both knees _ once in high school and once in college.

But what makes Bailey special is his ability to jump. He dismissed the myth of a reported 50-inch vertical leap Saturday, but still turned heads when he said his best ever was an almost unfathomable 48 inches.

"You always have to keep in mind that players here are going to do their fastest times and best-ever jumps because they've been training for two months," Tennessee general manager Floyd Reese said. "But it's a good indication of some athleticism."

Boss demonstrated his athleticism in high school, where he played both quarterback and running back.

Apparently, it runs in the bloodlines.

"We all played quarterback," Bailey said.

In 1998, Champ earned second-team All-American honors at cornerback but used his athletic skills also to catch passes. He was taken seventh overall in the 1999 draft by the Redskins.

Boss is hoping to join his brother as a first-round pick in the NFL, where he hopes to carve out his own niche.

"It's inspiring to see how he goes about his business and what he does," Boss said of his brother. "He's the top corner in the game, and that's what I'd like to do."